Nicosia’s CYENS Centre for Excellence greets the new year with a new look and new objectives

The municipally backed centre specializes in high tech and intelligent systems and is a key piece of Nicosia’s strategy for sustainable development

A new era is set to begin for the RISE Up Center of Excellence - the Center for Research and Innovation in Cyprus that specializes in interactive media, smart systems and emerging technologies as it is rebranded and renamed to the CYENS Center of Excellence.

The word "cyens" is an old way of writing the word "scion", which means to sprout, a new beginning on a strong, fully developed organism. For the Center, the name means just that. At the same time, the acoustic game with the word "science" is meant to indicate the capacity of the Center as a point of scientific research and experimentation.

Taking high tech development to a new level

The Center, as the product of the cooperation of the three public universities of Cyprus - University of Cyprus, Cyprus University of Technology and Open University, as well as the two well-known scientific organizations, Max Plank Institute of Informatics and University College London - under the guidance of the Municipality of Nicosia, is now in a phase of intense development, with expanded goals and activities, with a new name and new address.

The Center started operating in 2018, with a small team of employees, and reached the end of 2020 with more than 85 researchers and other staff, with the ultimate goal of continuing this upward trend, exceeding 120 employees by the end of this year.

Reflecting this development, all the employees and functions of the Center will soon move to the new - and final - space, in the Town Hall Square in Nicosia within the walls.

Simultaneously with the new name, the Center adopts a new logo which is an evolution of the previous one and is transformed from a two-dimensional form into a three-dimensional one. The new logo reflects the Center's expertise in creating 3D representations of our reality through virtual imaging and 3D reproduction, helping to analyze and find innovative proposals in various application areas.

Along with the name and logo change, a new website has been designed, www.cyens.org.cy. With a renewed design, the aim of the new page is the thorough information of the visitor regarding the action of the Center in matters of research, research and educational programs, prospects of cooperation with the Center as well as conferences and other events.

Welcoming this year that brings new developments to the Center with the change of name and its relocation to its new facilities, the Mayor of Nicosia and Chairman of the Board, Mr. Konstantinos Giorkatzis, stated that “The CYENS Center of Excellence, coordinated by the Municipality of Lefko, is part of the city and an integral part of the wider strategy of the Municipality for sustainable urban development. The CYENS centre, located in the heart of the Creative Business District, in the historic centre of the city, next to the dead zone and the City Hall building, strengthens the ecosystem and the development of the wider area as a hub of innovative entrepreneurship and innovation.”

The vision and goals of the Center remain the same: The undertaking and conducting of world-class scientific research to promote innovative thinking through multiple business sectors, creating social and economic benefits. Through the synergies between the interdisciplinary teams that make up CYENS, the subsequent solutions offered will be human-centred.